Dell earnings report Q3 2026

Dell reported fiscal third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that missed Wall Street expectations for revenue, but the company forecasted a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter driven by increased AI sales.

Dell shares rose 5% in extended trading.

Here’s how Dell did versus LSEG consensus estimates:

• EPS: $2.59 adjusted versus $2.47 estimated
• Revenue: $27.01 billion versus $27.13 billion estimated

Dell said it expects about $31.5 billion in sales in the fourth quarter versus $27.59 billion estimated by analysts. The company said it expects fourth-quarter earnings per share of $3.50 versus $3.21 expected.

The company said it was raising its expectations for AI server shipments during the year to $25 billion, up from $20 billion, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to $111.7 billion from $107 billion.

Dell reported $1.54 billion in net income, or $2.28 per diluted share, during the quarter, versus $1.17 billion, or $1.64, in the year-ago period.

The company is an important bellwether for the health of the AI infrastructure industry as one of the top vendors for systems based around Nvidia’s graphics processors. Overall revenue in the quarter rose 11% on an annual basis.

Dell’s main customers for its artificial intelligence systems are big businesses, governments and so-called neoclouds like CoreWeave. Dells sells less to big cloud companies typically called hyperscalers, which have been the most voracious Nvidia buyers so far.

The company said it expects to sell $9.4 billion of AI servers in the fourth quarter, and that doesn’t include a deal announced in November to sell Nvidia-based GB300 systems to Iren, a neocloud that plans to rent them out to Microsoft.

Dell’s data center business, called Infrastructure Solutions Group, reported $14.11 billion in sales, in-line with analyst estimates. Of that, $10.1 billion was for servers and networking parts, which was up 37% on an annual basis. Much of that increase was driven by $5.6 billion in AI server shipments. Dell said it sold $4 billion of storage gear during the quarter.

But the company said that its laptop and PC business, called Client Solutions Group, reported $12.48 billion in sales, which was up 3% year-over-year but slightly lower than the $12.65 billion expected by analysts.

Dell’s laptop and PC business was hit particularly hard, declining 7% on an annual basis.

The company said it spent $1.6 billion during the quarter on share repurchases and dividends.

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